After about an eight-month process of discussion and negotiation, the University of Wyoming School of Energy Resources solidified a relationship with a New York-based clean-coal company this week. Clean Coal Technologies Incorporated, or CCTI, has developed technologies focused on making coal cleaner. UW hopes to work with them to help develop their products and make them more commercially viable.
CCTI has several patented technologies, including one called Pristine-M that works to reduce the moisture content of coal, allowing for more volatile compounds to be added. By increasing the BTU, the traditional unit of measuring heat, CCTI is allowing the coal to burn more efficiently. The company hopes to use this technology to make typical coal more attractive to international markets.
Aiden Neary, COO, CFO, and Director of CCTI, said UW offers many new opportunities for them — especially in terms of research and development.
For instance, “looking at ways of improving the efficiency of our technology, looking at ideas regarding the products that you can derive from coal using our technology.”
UW also provides connections with foreign markets, like Japan and Taiwan, while at the same time taking advantage of Wyoming’s Powder River Basin coal.
“We’re looking to actually use our technology for beneficiating Powder River Basin coal to the point where it will actually be more attractive on the global stage from an export perspective into places like India, Japan, and Taiwan,” Neary said.
CCTI also has a relationship with Wyoming New Energy, which is planning to build a two million ton coal mine in the Powder River Basin. CCTI plans to begin building a commercial facility in the PRB by next year.